Quote:
Originally Posted by Zimmer4141
It is truly amazing how crippling student debt can be. If you graduate with $60k in student debt, and you save $500/month, you are paying that off until you're 32.
Saving $500 a month is an absurd amount, especially for somebody at an entry-level position.
People can save way more than they think. They just don't want to cut back and instead want to keep up with their underwater friends then complain about how little they make.
I started quoting posts by Bowens and others but then I was quoting like 20 posts because so many people made the same point.
But I agree. Our society not only doesn't encourage non-scholastic types to pursue trades, it actively discourages it and throws its head in the sand while holding up a sign that says "everyone is a special snowflake that can become anything they want!"
It's fantasyland bull****. Skilled trades are essential for our civilization and these jobs shouldn't be looked down on. There is always a demand for people who know how to fix ****. I wish blue collar jobs would be talked about in a higher regard in schools. My wife is a teacher and the admins basically hammer her and her students with "you're all going to college someday!" while eschewing any idea of trade school. So stupid and inefficient for all parties. Many, many kids should literally not even set foot in high school. Or maybe 1-2 years max. then be off to trade school. But nope. Everyone is a genius. We're all gonna be doctors someday and our civilization's infrastructure will fall to **** because doctors don't know how to do anything other than doctoring.
I'm an architect. A job that is almost universally portrayed in positive light in movies and TV. Do you know how often they build buildings? Never. Do you know how often I have to hire someone to fix my car, washer, dryer, computer, toilet, A/C, etc? All the time. Because I don't know how to do this stuff and it's vital to my daily well-being. These jobs should be celebrated - not shunned.
I feel like blue collar jobs are like on-base percentage pre Moneyball.